Rastafarian Colors

Rastafarians adopted the colors red, yellow, and green as the color of the rastafarian movement.

…the very same colors of the Marcus Garvey movement back in the early 1900’s.

Recall that much of the rastafarian belief came from the teaching of Marcus Garvey, so, it is no surprise that they adopted the colors of the movement as well.

This is a sign of their total commitment Garvey’s teachings, especially his back to Africa idea.

If you listen carefully to many Rastafarian reggae artists today, you will hear them singing about “going back to Africa.”

Marcus Garvey’s message was one of hope for all blacks around the world.

Even though his effort to unify them came up short, the rastafarians took hold of the idea and has kept it alive today.

So, What do each color represent?

The red stands for the blood of black martyrs that were shed around the world during their struggle for liberation, equal rights, and justice.

Yellow represents the wealth of the homeland, Africa, particularly the gold.

…and finally the green represents the beauty and the vegetation of the promise land, Ethiopia.

So there you have it, colors of significance to the rastafarian movement.

The next time you see a ‘true’ rastafarian, look for the colors. More than likely he or she will be wearing a hat, a shirt, or an entire outfit of some kind signifying his/her total commitment to the movement.